Gilded Gates
November 1, 2005
But critics complain that such developments not only reinforce the
segregation of American society, they also erode the foundations of civic life.
“Gated community residents are focusing on the local civic realm rather than the
larger civic realm,” says John McIlwain, a senior fellow for housing at the
Urban Land Institute. Residents might view their community as existing only
within the gates, and may therefore disinvest in the municipality outside it.
Gated communities often function like their own cities, even boasting their own
zip codes. They are governed by either homeowners associations or community
associations, which have their own rules and regulations and their own taxes and
fees. They are responsible for the upkeep of their own infrastructures, to which
residents must financially contribute. In fact, some residents have to pay these
fees to both their homeowners associations and their local governments—called
“double taxation.” Some communities have even successfully lobbied to remove
state or local taxes. In Arizona’s Youngtown, for example, residents do not have
to pay school taxes, because no one in the retirement community has school-age
children—essentially withdrawing their financial support from the larger world.
Scene from Monterra, a gated, environmentally conscious development near Monterey, Calif. A custom home with bay views.
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(Click image to enlarge.)
In exchange for the privatization of public services such as garbage collection and street cleaning, homeowners associations establish covenants—rules that often dictate lifestyle choices, from the colors you paint your house to the size of home you can build. “You can’t hang your wash out on line, can’t paint your shutters, can’t leave your car parked in the driveway,” says McIlwain about some of these covenants. Indeed, there is a culture of sameness prevalent in some gated communities—a plus for some, a minus for others.
Because gated communities have their own bylaws and can become influential groups, some municipalities are resisting them. “A gate sends a message to the larger municipality that the townsfolk don’t always like,” says Grucza. “Cities like to have their turf, and these groups can become a political lobbying force.” Gated communities can lead to an almost militia mentality, an us-against-them feeling that lawmakers wish to dispel. For example, La Habra Heights in California tried unsuccessfully to enact a ban on gated communities, as has Mayor Bryan Baptiste of Kauai, Hawaii. Cities like Portland, Ore., and Minneapolis actively discourage them by instituting maximum wall height regulations and zoning codes.
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